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Big three property landlords jump on the Airbnb bandwagon
Tuesday, 16 Dec, 2015
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Some of the biggest residential landlords in the US want a piece of the Airbnb action.
Property management companies Equity Residential, AvalonBay Communities Inc and Camden Property Trust have held talks with Airbnb about a ‘revenue sharing’ partnership.
This could potentially legitimize short term stays in rented apartments in exchange for a cut of revenue.
The three companies between them manage about 250,000 rental units according to a Wall St Journal report.
"You just can’t turn your head or keep your head in the sand over what’s going on," said David Santee, Equity Residential’s chief operating officer.
"It is just a way to figure out how can everybody coexist, bring transparency and figure out a way that everybody can win."
Most apartment leases have restrictions banning sublets without express permission – even for very short periods – however this has not stopped tenants from making money.
The three companies said they will assess all relevant local laws before agreeing to any partnership and would likely restrict the number of days a tenant is permitted to rent out an apartment.
"While it’s a little scary, we do think there’s a play there," said Kristy Simonette, chief information officer at Camden.
When Airbnb released data earlier this month from its New York listings, it showed some hosts generating up to $350,000 a year in short term rental income.
"A lot of our hosts are renters. Any solution we would be able to identify would be a win-win-win for everyone involved," said Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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